The present invention relates to an automatic retrieval system. More particularly, the invention concerns the automatic retrieval of one or more selected items from among a set of items stored at respective known locations.
The following description is given in terms of the automatic retrieval of selected garments retained on hangers in a storage area; however, is to be understood that the invention is more generally applicable.
There are several known systems for the storage and automatic retrieval of garments. Such systems may be broadly classified into two groups by reference to the type of retrieval system which is used.
In the first group of systems, the garments are provided in a movable storage facility so that the whole set of storage locations moves (usually by rotation) until a selected garment is adjacent to a delivery point where it is manually or automatically picked off. An example of a system in this first category is described in British patent No. 1107988. In the second group of systems, the garments are provided at stationary storage locations and there is a retrieval device which is moved to the known location of a selected garment, picks off the selected garment and then delivers it to a delivery point. An example of a system of the second type is described in British patent No. 1317306.
In general the second type of storage and retrieval system is preferable over the first type because less power is required and quicker retrieval is obtained by moving only the retrieval device rather than moving the whole set of stored garments.
In the system described in GB 1317306 the garments are arranged on hangers which are suspended on storage rails via hanger clips. The hanger clips have a loop at one end, an enlarged head at the other and a connecting stalk between the two ends. The hook of each hanger is threaded through the loop at the bottom end of a hanger clip. The stalk of each hanger clip is slid into a slot in a storage rail and the enlarged head at the top of the clip rests on the rail.
In this known system, rails are provided in pairs and the retrieval device is an overhead pick off gantry which moves along a straight track midway between the two rails. The motion of the gantry is microprocessor controlled so as to correctly line up the gantry with the known storage location at which a selected garment is held. Once at the correct location, a lower portion of the gantry slides sideways and lifts the head of the relevant hanger clip using the inclined plane principle. The lower gantry portion plus selected garment slides back to the running track and then the gantry is conveyed to one end of the track which serves as a delivery point. After the delivered garment is returned to a customer, the hanger clip is ejected and is then available for re-use.
Although this prior art system has been demonstrated to be operable (by being implemented as an automatic dry cleaning system and as a uniform exchange system by Autovalet Systems International), it wastes space in the gap provided between the pair of rails, and thus the system as a whole occupies an undue amount of space. Furthermore, the speed of garment retrieval is restricted in the prior art system because of the relatively great weight of the retrieval device. Also, by making use of hanger clips, the complexity of the system is increased and the weight of the load to be carried by the retrieval device is increased further, slowing garment delivery.
GB-A-2155451 describes a garment retrieval similar to that of GB 1317306. Both systems use as the retrieval device a gantry moving between and selecting garments from a parallel pair of storage rails. Also, in both systems hanger clips are used to suspend the hangers from the storage rails. However, in the system of GB-A-2155451 the hanger holding a selected garment is rotated to a position at which it is held edgewise for transportation. This is achieved by means of a rigid loop member which is carried by the retrieval device. In its normal position the loop is above the level of the storage rails. However the loop may be swung down (through the action of an electric motor carried by the retrieval device) so that the loop will push against a suspended garment and cause it to turn into the edgewise orientation.
The present invention provides an improved storage and retrieval system of the second general type described above but which is simpler, lighter and more compact than prior art systems. The light weight of the retrieval device used in embodiments of the present invention means that the speed of delivery of a selected item is considerably enhanced.
In a first aspect the present invention provides apparatus for retrieving articles from predetermined storage locations and delivering the articles to a delivery point, the articles being provided on hangers, the apparatus comprising:
a row of storage locations, each storage location being adapted to enable one or more of said hangers to be removably held there in a first orientation; PA1 control means for designating the storage location at which is located one or more of said articles to be retrieved; PA1 means for removing one or more hangers from the designated storage location, the removal means being adapted to disengage said one or more hangers from the designated storage location and to move the one or more hangers into a second orientation for transportation, the second orientation being transverse to the first orientation in which hangers are held at storage locations; and PA1 a transporter for transporting the one or more removed hangers from the designated location to the delivery point; PA1 wherein the removal means is adapted to contact the hangers to disengage the hangers from the designated storage location. PA1 a row of storage locations, each storage location being adapted to enable one or more of the hangers to be removably held there in a first orientation; PA1 control means for designating the storage location at which is located one or more of the articles to be retrieved; PA1 means for removing one or more hangers from the designated storage location, the removal means being adapted to disengage the one or more hangers from the designated storage location and to move the one or more hangers into a second orientation for transportation, the second orientation being transverse to the first orientation in which hangers are held at storage locations; and PA1 a transporter for transporting the one or more removed hangers from the designated location to the delivery point; PA1 wherein the transporter is provided with at least one sensor for detecting storage locations as they are passed by the transporter; PA1 the row of storage locations comprises a row of slots provided in a rail; and PA1 the sensor(s) provided on the transporter are magnetic field sensors arranged to detect the discontinuities caused by the tops of the slots in the rail.
An advantage provided by the first aspect of the invention is that hanging items may be retrieved by direct removal of the hanger, thus avoiding the use of intermediate hanging clips. This simplifies the overall system and somewhat lightens the load to be transported.
In a second aspect the present invention provides apparatus for retrieving articles from predetermined storage locations and delivering the articles to a delivery point, the articles being provided on hangers, the apparatus comprising:
a row of storage locations, each storage location being adapted to enable one or more of the hangers to be removably held there in a first orientation;
control means for designating the storage location at which is located one or more of the articles to be retrieved;
means for removing one or more hangers from the designated storage location, the removal means being adapted to disengage the one or more hangers from the designated storage location and to move the one or more hangers into a second orientation for transportation, the second orientation being transverse to the first orientation in which hangers are held at storage locations;
a transporter for transporting the one or more removed hangers from the designated location to the delivery point; and
a path substantially directly above the row of storage locations, the transporter being adapted to move along the path.
An advantage of the second aspect of the invention is that the transporter is lighter and more compact than in the prior art systems. This speeds retrieval and delivery of selected articles. Furthermore, in a system using multiple storage rails, the speed of retrieval of selected garments is considerably faster if there is one transporter per rail as in the present invention. This is in contrast to the prior art systems in which one transporter is used to serve a pair of rails.
In a third aspect the present invention provides apparatus for retrieving articles from predetermined storage locations and delivering the articles to a delivery point, the articles being provided on hangers, the apparatus comprising:
An advantage provided by the third aspect of the invention is that a high degree of positioning accuracy is achieved. This allows the stored articles to be spaced closer together along the storage rail.